Obtaining UEL Certificates

Once you have joined the Bay of Quinte Branch as a MEMBER, you may wish to document your Loyalist connection and apply for your Certificate as a descendant of a United Empire Loyalist. This certificate formally recognizes the applicant as a descendant of a United Empire Loyalist, and as a result the applicant may use the post-nominal letters “UE” after their name, an honour that dates back to Lord Dorchester’s Order in Council in 1789, conferring recognition of the service of the Loyalists in their defence of “The Unity of Empire.”

In order to receive your UEL CERTIFICATE from the organization, you must be able to prove your Loyalist Lineage from the following:
• A male or female resident of the American Colonies prior to 19th April 1775 who joined the Royal Standard prior to the Treaty of Separation of 1783 or otherwise demonstrated loyalty to the Crown, and settled in territory remaining under the rule of the Crown; or
• A soldier who served in an American Loyalist Regiment and was disbanded in Canada; or
• A member of the Six Nations of either the Grand River or the Bay of Quinte Reserves who is descended from one whose migration was similar to that of the other Loyalists.

There is a one-time application fee of $50 which is to be submitted with your completed Certificate Application Form.
You can pick up an application form at the UEL Heritage Centre in Adolphustown, or by contacting the Branch Genealogist. Members are encouraged to research their lineage and submit the completed forms for approval to our Branch Genealogist and to the Dominion Genealogist. A good place to start your research is at the UEL Heritage Centre where we have many resources that will aid you. Our genealogy committee can provide some assistance when a roadblock is reached. Some examples of acceptable proofs of lineal descent that you may use to join each generation to the next are:
1. Wills that state a family relationship
2. Birth, baptism, marriage and death certificates that have names of parents
3. Vital statistics registrations showing family connections
4. Church records or cemetery records that show family connections
5. Census records that list family connections of children with parents, etc
6. Dated newspaper articles that give family connections
7. Copies of land petitions or grants to Loyalists and their sons or daughters

Please contact us at 1784@uel.ca to obtain the application forms for the UEL Certificate or if you need more information.